“Precisely,” agreed the masquerader. “That being so, I think you had better cover the New Pelham end of it. Go and see the man’s wife, tell her you are from the office, and find out all she knows. She may give you a clew right away, without knowing it—something that may mean nothing to her, but much to you.” “Get you,” Cray said eagerly. His distinguished friend, as he believed, had just said that the New Pelham end of it was the most important, so that here was another feather in his—Cray’s—cap. “I’ll work it for all I’m worth,” he added. “What line are you going to take, though?” CHAPTER XII. GREEN EYE DOES SOME THINKING. That question of Cray’s ought to have proved very embarrassing to the impostor under the circumstances. As a matter of fact, Green-eye Gordon did not intend to do anything, if he could help it. It appealed to his lazy temperament, and his sense of humor, as well, to let Cray do as much of the actual work as possible, and then to step in at the end and claim the reward in his own peculiar way. Of course, it remained to be seen whether or not he could carry out that program without arousing the ex-police detective’s suspicion, and its success was also conditioned on Cray’s ability to handle the practical end of it in a way that promised to bring the desired results. Naturally, if Cray fell down, he would be obliged to take a hand in the game, and the eighty thousand dollars would amply reward him for his exertions. “Time enough to cross that bridge when I come to it, however,” he assured himself. “Meanwhile, I’ll do a little stalling, and see what comes of it. It’s safe to say that it won’t prove so difficult as it looks. Cray is more or less of a fool, and he thinks the sun rises and sets in his good and great friend, Carter; hence, Carter can do no wrong in his eyes—and I’m Carter.” He assumed an engaging expression. “I’m afraid you’ll have to go it alone, Jack,” he confessed frankly, accompanying the words with a disarming smile. “For a day or two, that is. Of course, we’ll go over the thing together step by step, and I’ll give you my advice whenever you wish it. There’s this other case, however, which will keep me in New York for the present, although it won’t take up all of my time. You see how it is—it simply means that I won’t be able to do much running around in the Simpson case just now. As soon as I get this other thing out of the way, though——” “But hadn’t I better go to Hattontown, if that’s the state of affairs?” suggested Cray. “You can’t leave New York just now, you say, but you might be able to run out to New Pelham before long. For that matter, it’s quite likely that you could handle Mrs. Simpson better than I could. You have a great way of getting around the women.” Gordon looked around with mock alarm. “I’m glad there’s no one to overhear that, Jack,” he said, with a grin. “I might get the reputation as a lady-killer.”